Urbanization in the Global South: Perspectives and Challenges

This book examines the challenges of urbanization in the global south and the linkages between urbanization, economic development and urban poverty from the perspectives of cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It focuses on various aspects of urbanization ranging from food security and public services like sanitation, water and electricity to the finances of cities and externalities associated with the urbanization process. The volume also highlights the importance of participatory urban governance for cities in India with comparative perspectives from other countries. It further focuses on the urbanization of poverty, livelihood in urban areas, overconsumption and nutrition and ecology. Based on primary data, the chapters in the volume review trends, opportunities, challenges, governance and strategies of several countries at different levels of urbanization, with several case studies from India. This multidisciplinary volume will be of great interest to researchers and students of development studies, sociology, economics and urban planning and policy. It will also be useful for policymakers, think tanks and practitioners in the area of urbanization. Review ‘Will the urban world succeed in approximating the UN SDGs? It largely depends upon the trajectories of urbanization, natural resources, urban poverty in the Souths (India, Nigeria, China, Latin America). This book provides the best access to such worlds.’ Paolo Perulli, ENI Enrico Mattei Foundation, Milan, Italy ‘The contributions in this volume demonstrate that realizing the economic benefits from urbanization and ensuring they are inclusive and sustainable requires careful attention to a wide range of issues. This volume will be a very useful resource for researchers and policymakers alike.’ Rana Hasan, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines About the Author Kala S. Sridhar is a Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India. She was earlier with the Public Affairs Centre, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, India, the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India and the National Association of Home Builders, Washington, DC. She has been a visiting scholar at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN multiple times. She has authored or edited nine books and has published several papers in international journals. She has been awarded a Fulbright Nehru fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs in 2021 and in 2022. She is in the top 10 percent of authors globally on SSRN. She holds a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University, USA. George Mavrotas is a leading development economist with about 30 years of experience in international development. He is currently a Full Professor at the Institute of Development Policy of the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Previous appointments include Senior Fellow IFPRI, Chief Economist of the Global Development Network, Senior Research Fellow and Project Director at the World Institute of Development Economics Research of the UN, and academic posts in Oxford and Manchester Universities, UK, for many years. He is the author and co-author of more than 130 publications, including numerous papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and ten books. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University, UK.